Overhead rail cleaner



Dec. 14, 1937. w. KAHN OVERHEAD RAIL CLEANER Filed Feb. 4, 1956 INVENTOR. [oz/ls W 7fak2z I BY Y Y TTORNEYS Patented Dec. 14, 1937 gleam 1 Louis W. Kahn, CincinnathOhio Application-February. 4, 1936, Serial No, 62,327 s Claims. 01. 15- -21) Y uThe present invention relates to a: cleaning devicefor overhead rails for tracks such as are-used in abattoirs or: other preparing plants,for conveying ncarcasses or other, food .productsflwhich should bev protectedfrom scale, dirt, or rust particlesthat accumulate upon the overhea di'rails an'ddrop therefrom.- ,Thecleaning of such rails has heretofore been accomplished by theuse of hand scrapers or brushes, in a laborious manner. -.x-;An object of the invention is tominimize the labor} and expense of cleaning overhead rails,

and to: greatly reduce the time required for the cleaning ::operati,on.

. Another-object of the invention is to provide-a.

simple, efiective, and easily manipulated machine for performance of the rail 1 cleaning operation.

1-These and other objectsare attained by the 7 means. describedv herein and disclosed in the :ac

.companying'draw-ing, in-which: f: 1

"20 PFigsl is an elevational View ofthe. device of the invention. 1

.. Fig.;2;is aside view of the Fig. 1 device. 'uWith referencelto the-drawing, the character 3 indicates a high overhead rail which is not. con

IZls veniently within .the reachof a workman whose I duty is to keep the rail free of accumulated dirt, V rust particles and the like. In. many establishments; particularly packing houses and the like, the equipment comprises; several miles of over- ;eo head rails .or tracks which are-"subject to corkrosionandathe accumulation ofdirt and moisture,

' .so that the railsortracks must ,be cleaned periodically to-prevent, the foreign matter from dropping onto the carcasses or other food products transported by means of carriages that operateover the rails. The cleaning of the rails or tracks has heretofore been a laborious: procedure, which now has been obviated by means of 'the present invention. I V --'40 :fThe cleaning device of thepresent invention comprises a carriage which includes a pair 'Lofwxhan'gers 4; each of which' is provided with aflanged wheel 5 adapted to ride upon the .rail; Suspended fromeachhanger by means of a 45 fswivel or: pivot 6,;is a uidebar or rod], said bars ,or, rods being maintainedin parallel relationship aswil-Lbeexplained.} A pair ofconnecting-bars .BL-have their upper ends 79 secured to the lower ends 'ofthe .guide barsor rods?! in anysuit- (.50 ableymann'er', such as by-means of screwsor other fasteners l2 :The connecting bars :have spaced lower ends ,lS-which dependdownwardly to a ,location substantially within the reach of an opeerator of-therail cleaner;

{Q55 -:;;The.guide bars or rods; 1 provide a lsupportfor device.

r N, 7, {E51 averti'callyshiftable rail cleanersupport is which carries a motor 22 and a pair of rail cleaners 'I5 and I6, ,which cleaners maybe in the form of i rotatable brushes, each of which is driven by the motor 22.1 The brushes may be .rotated in any {5; suitable manner, oneform of drive meansbeing showninthe accompanying drawing. As shown,

each rotating brush has :a shaft. ll, one of which carries a gear I8, and the other of which carries, a gear 9,.these gears being meshed with a pinion :10 on the motor shaft 2!, It willbe observed by reference to Fig. 2 that the brushes I 5 and ware slightly spaced apart sothatwhen they are ele-' vated toward the rail 3, the rail will be received therebetween. 15'

To facilitate elevating and lowering of the assembly l4l5-l6-22, the rail cleaning means support-I4 is seated upon a pair of springs which surround the guide bars or rods 1 and rest against the .lowerendslll thereof. As illustratedin the :2 drawing, the springs are of the compressiontype,

.butit is to be understo'ood that tensiontype springs maybe employed to suspend the motor assembly from the upper ends of the guide rods 1, if desired. The counterbalancing-meansjust g25 hand piece is to be fixed relative to the motor 335 assembly in any suitable manner, such as by means o-fa bracket25.- Ator near the lower end of the hand piece is mounted an electrical switch 26 to which the power line 21 is connected, said switch constituting a means for the control of the motorzz.

Itis to be understood that the motor control means 26 may be located at any other location within easy reach of the operator of the cleaning v The means for elevating and lowering thelmotor assembly and the cleaning means l5 and IE to the operative position againstv the sides of the rail, and tothe inoperative position shown in through whieh-passes a suitable pivot element 3| whereby the lever is pivoted upon the hand piece, 24. An extension 32 on each of the arms 29 and 30 is pivoted as at 33 upon the lower ends l3 of the connecting bars 8, so that rotation of the lever or manipulating means 28 about the pivot 3| will shift the hand piece and the motor assembly bodily upwardly toward the rail. In the upper or operative position of the motor and brush assembly, the lever 28 assumes a dead center position at which the motor and brush assembly are locked or latched in the operative rail cleaning position. The hand piece or shaft 24 may be provided near its lower end with a suitable extension or handle 34, which the operator may grasp in guiding the device along the curved sections of the overhead rail. The member 34 is fixedly mounted upon the hand piece 24.

In order that the cleaning means'or brushes may operate effectively upon both vertical faces of the rail 3, a self-adjusting equalizing means is provided. Said means may be associated with the hangers 4, and may comprise an extension 35 disposed at right angles to the hanger and having formed therein an elongated slot 36 in which the pivot 6 may shift. As' is clearly indicated by Fig. 2, the pivot 6 may shift laterally in the'slot 36, at right angles to the rail 3, so that an upward projection of the brushes l6 and I! about the rail will automatically serve to shift the pivot ,6 relative to the slot 36, to a position at which each brush contacts the rail with equal force. .Although only one form of equalizing means is disclosed, it is to be understood that other forms may be employed, the simplest of which would be to elongate the axle 31 of the wheel 5, and permit the wheel to adjust itself along the length oi such axle. As will be understood, the self-equalizing means whatever may be its form, will facilitate negotiating curved sections of the rail, by maintainingequal forces of the brushes upon the opposite sides of the rail. In the embodiment shown, the swivel or pivot at 6 is transverse to or in right angular relationship with hanger wheel axis 31.

It is to be understood that the rail cleaners may take several forms, and may perform an abrading function or a scraping function, depending upon the nature of the accumulated material upon the rail. It is ordinarily found, however, that rotating wire brushes driven at a proper speed, will remove all ordinary accumu lated material from the sides and the lower surfaces of the rail. V

As is evident, the device of the present invention' minimizes greatly the labor and expense of cleaning overhead rails, and reduces to a minimum the time required for the cleaning operation. The machine is simple, effective, and easily manipulated, and it performs the cleaning operation more thoroughly than it can be performed using hand labor. 7

It is to be understood that various modifications and changesin the structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A cleaning device for the side faces of an overhead rail which is normally out of reach of an operator, comprising in combination, a car riage including means for suspending it from such rail, a power actuated cleaning means supported by the carriage, a depending hand piece of such length as to be within easy reach of an operator. said hand piece being rigidly connected upper and with the carriage whereby movement of the oar riage along the rail may be effected by the operator from a position beneath the rail, and a control means on the hand piece for control of the power actuated cleaning means.

2. A cleaning device for the opposed side faces of an overhead rail which is normally out of reach of an operator, comprising in combination, a carriage including means for suspending and moving it along such rail, a power actuated cleaning means supported by the carriage, a depending hand piece of such lengthas to be within easy .reach of an operator, whereby an operator may move the suspended carriage along the rail lengthwise thereof, and means carried by the hand piece for selectively placing the cleaning means into and out of cooperative relation ship with the rail.

V 3. A'cleaning device for an overhead rail which is normally out of reach of anoperator, comprising in combination, a carriage including means for suspending it from the rail for movement along such rail, a power actuated cleaning means embracing opposite surfaces of the rail and supported by the carriage beneath the rail, adepending hand piece of such length as to be within easy reach of an operator, and of such rigidity as to enable movement of the carriage along the rail by the operator, means carried by the hand piece for selectively'placing the cleaningmeans into and out of cooperative relationship with the rail, and means operative upon disposition of the cleaning means to the operative position, to equalize the force of the cleaning means upon opposite sides of the rail.

4. A cleaning device for overhead rails, comprising in combination, a carriage suspended from the rail to be cleaned, and means depending from the carriage to a location within the reach of an operator, for moving the carriage manually along the rail, a power actuated rail cleaning means supported by the carriage, and meansfor selectively placing the rail cleaning means into and out of contacting relationship with the rail,

7 while the carriage remains suspended from the of an overhead rail, comprising in combination, a e

carriage supported by the rail to be cleaned, and means within the r'eachof an operator for moving the carriage along the rail, a power actuated rail cleaning means supported by the carriage and embracing the opposed side faces of the rail, means' for selectively placing the rail cleaning means into and out of contacting relationship with the rail, while the carriage remains supported by the rail, and means operative upon dis- 7 position of the rail cleaning means to rail contacting position, for equalizing the force of contact of the cleaning means upon the faces of the rail.

6. A cleaning device for the opposed side faces of a high overhead rail, comprising in combination, a carriage suspended from the rail to be cleaned and movable lengthwise of the rail, a rail cleaning means comprising a pair of opposed brushes between which the rail is receivable, a rail cleaning means support mounted upon the carriage for vertical shifting movement, to dispose the brushes inoperative and inoperative positions relative to the rail, a hand piece as-- sociated with said support to extend downwardly to a position within the reach of an operator, whereby the carriage may be moved along the rail, means mounted uponfthe hand piece for selectively shifting the brushes to the operative and inoperative positions aforesaid, and means for power actuating the brushes while in contact upon the rail.

'7. A cleaning device for the opposed side pieces of an overhead rail, comprising in combination, a carriage suspended from the rail to be cleaned and movable lengthwise of the rail, a pair of rail cleaning members spaced apart to receive the rail and to operate upon opposed faces thereof, a

cleaning member support including a motor mounted upon the carriage for vertical movement, to dispose the cleaning members in operative and inoperative positions relative to the rail,-

a hand piece adapted to be grasped by an operator for moving the carriage along the rail, and means for bodily shifting the motor, the cleaning members, and the cleaning member support selectively toward and'from the rail.

8. A cleaning device for overhead rails, comprising in combination, a carriage having rotatable supporting means whereby it may be supported by the rail to be cleaned and moved lengthwise of the rail, a pair of rail cleaning members spaced apart to receive the rail and to operate-upon opposed faces thereof, a cleaning member support including a motor mounted upon the carriage for vertical movement, to dispose the cleaning members in operative and inoperative positions relative to the rail, a hand piece depending from the motor adapted to be grasped by an operator'for moving the carriage along the rail, and means connected with said hand piece and carriage for bodily shifting the motor, the cleaning members, and the cleaning member support selectively toward and from the rail, axially of the hand piece, and means on said carriage for counterbalancing the weight of said 7 LOUIS w. KAHN. 

